Rise
by Cherokee-Lightning
Summary: Young turian Julik Vanthos finds himself dropped in the middle of the Geth assault on Eden Prime, after a brutal military career and boring C-Sec job can he hope to prevent a rogue Spectre and the looming threat of a possible Reaper invasion? (Spans all 3 games.)
1. Eden Prime

**Hello people of the internet!, I welcome you to my newest series in the world of Mass Effect. It will hopefully follow along the entire trilogy, and will be broken up into 3 different stories, one for each game. I make a solemn promise to follow the lore and story to the best of my abilities and will try to bring you an amazing adventure. Thank you, and enjoy.**

* * *

Another day in the offices had nearly bored Julik to death, hovering over his datapad and skimming through countless petty theft reports and racism charges, most of which were directed toward human citizens rather than alien ones. Yes..this was an average day in the dull life of Julik Vanthos, a turian C-Sec officer unwillingly assigned to a desk job on Eden Prime for the remainder of the galactic year. Things were much easier when it was just 'secure the fugitive at all costs', now there was just a gigantic backhand of new regulations that got him taken out of the normal patrol duty. Julik gazed across his bare desk at the faded photo in the corner, the glowing beauty of Palaven, one that was taken earlier on in his career during a vacation period. He remembered that day...his father had taken it while the pair was on Menae. Julik turned away and grimaced...preferring not to bring up thoughts of his father. The sudden quiet in the office made him nervous, in battle quiet could mean the enemy was upon them, or they were evacuating so that dreadnoughts could bombard from orbit. It was only nerves, but that didn't stop Julik from standing up to investigate. Half of the employees were wandering away, the security guards normally posted at the door were pointing people to the elevators and stairways. He ducked out of his cubicle and jogged over to the nearest guard, a human just down the hall. "Pardon me, what is going on?"

The human turned around and fished a standard-issue Kassa fabrications handgun out of a large crate of guns of the same type, and shoved it into Julik's hands. "The colony is under attack...we are evacuating all colonists to separate shuttles, your file says you have military experience. So your joining the strike team downstairs and are going to help them secure the area." Julik gulped, fearing the reality of going into battle again. "Who's attacking?" Julik asked curiously. The guard shrugged. "We have no idea, but the ship they landed on is absolutely enormous. Their gutting the entire security detail down in the main colony and we don't have much time." He grabbed Julik's shoulder and shoved the turian in the direction of the stairway. _How bad could it really be?__  
_

It _was _bad outside, smoke hung heavy on the air and Julik was sure he could spot a few bodies in the distance. On the other side of the colony was a massive ship, larger than any ship he'd ever seen or served on. It was draped in a dark storm cloud and red lightning blasted in random directions around it. Julik drew his mandibles close and almost quivered at the sight of the vessel, but something was oddly alluring about it. It was almost as if his brain wanted him to investigate it, go inside, do whatever it's captain needed. The turian shook his head and spat...it was just the PTSD talking. He walked to the patrolling strike team and smoothly fell in, making sure the thermal clip in his handgun was operational and the safety lock was deactivated. Things got quiet again, albeit the groaning shrieks coming from the ship miles away. It was almost calm, which is why the blast caught him off guard.

A single, searing wall of flame engulfed the turian and swathed the rest in a whirlwind of smoke and shrapnel. One woman screamed as her helmet melted to her skull, violently convulsing and trying to peel the bubbling plastic and metal from her flesh. Julik had been hit, hard, but he rolled onto his stomach, the back of his old armor set was charred black and broken. He could hear nothing but an endless ring and see nothing but a fuzzy blur. Bright blue lights hovered and bobbled through the smoke, it took Julik a minute to realize that the lights were connected to a set of heads, and those heads were on large robotic bodies. What remained of the strike team saw them coming, and managed to gun down whatever was coming up over the hill. Julik propped himself up on one knee, trying to regain whatever air had been ripped from his lungs during the explosion. _Incendiary explosive grenade, Mark V, shields must have absorbed most of the heat. _The soldiers began to point and gasp in awe, some said that the mysterious light creatures were Geth. Geth?...no...that could not be possible, they hadn't been seen outside the Perseus Veil in spirits-know how long, why attack Eden Prime? Julik broke off from the recovering strike team and snuck off to the main colony, hoping to assist those being assaulted by what he assumed were now the Geth. Most of the outer buildings were burned out and empty, but battle still raged in the colony's heart. Remnants of rebellion...maybe 5 or 6...were the only active fighters left. They shot downward from the windows of an abandoned lab, feverishly picking off the geth that swarmed in like ants. "Hold the line!" one screamed. "They just keep coming!" said the other, and Julik was trying to find a way to help.

Twigs snapped behind him, and Julik turned so fast that whatever was there got smashed in the face with his quickly raising pistol. "Bah!" the person yelled, stumbling backward and drawing a weapon of their own. It was another turian, dressed in black and red armor with carefully applied white facepaint adorning his features. Julik lowered his gun and helped the turian up, recognizing him in the process. "Nihlus Kryik?" He asked shockingly. "The Council sent a Spectre?"

Nihlus grunted and dusted the dirt off of his chest-plate. "Yes, and I'm busy currently, so if you'll excuse me." Julik stepped in front of him and pointed to the trapped soldiers. "You gotta help me save those soldiers, I can't do it alone and it's a miracle you came along anyway." Nihlus twitched his mandibles and sighed, attaching a new thermal clip and checking the sights. "Fine." He pointed Julik too one side of the clearing while he took the other, and nodded when they were in position. Nihlus let out a whistle and Julik was having second guesses when a mass of Geth turned to face them.


	2. Nihlus the Spectre

"Why me?" Julik asked himself as the onslaught of geth forces charged in his direction, blindly firing and tearing up the concrete next to him. Nihlus had vanished from his position on the other side of the clearing, but Julik had figured he would bail before the fighting began. Spectres didn't help anyone if they didn't have to. Julik ducked out of cover and let loose a handful of rounds, most shattered off of the synthetic's shields but one managed to pass through a geth unit's chest and sent it on to the ground. The soldiers trapped in the building were faring much better now that much of the main force had been pulled away, cutting through the stragglers with ease. "I should have never trusted a Spectre!" There was the sound of an explosion as a grenade went off in between the geth, units were tossed sky high missing limbs and screeching in disarray. Nihlus ran out from a building further down, taking the geth by surprise and plunging his omni-tool blade into one of their backs. Several more fired at him, and he used the geth corpse as a shield from the bullets.

Julik actually grinned at how the turian had managed such a well planned strategy, no wonder he was a Spectre. Nihlus signaled to him and yelled out "Now!...Now!". Julik raised his pistol and fired on the confused geth, taking down a dozen more before the rest scattered and fell back. The soldiers in the building cheered and waved their guns happily in the air, for they were safe, for the time being. Nihlus dropped the body and ejected the thermal clip on his pistol, a rippling orb of blue energy appeared momentarily around him as his shields regenerated. The Spectre called Julik over and actually shook his hand...not sarcastically or thankfully, but respectfully shook his hand. "You did good out there...and stayed cool when you thought I was gone, not bad."

Julik nodded and clipped his smoking handgun back onto it's holster. "Staff Lieutenant Julik Vanthos, I worked in the C-Sec data outpost on the other side of the colony. Quit the military, joined C-Sec, and just so happen to get assigned here. Lucky me." The other turian grinned and pointed farther down into the colony, where more geth could be seen patrolling heavily around the area. Nihlus spoke. "I'm on my way to secure a beacon the scientists here found a few days ago." Julik raised an eyebrow, why hadn't any one else been told of this 'beacon'?

"Beacon?...as in Prothean?" He asked curiously. Nihlus responded vaguely. "I can't disclose that, strictly on a need-to-know basis right now." Julik rolled his eyes in annoyance, but Nihlus reassured him. "You can come along if you'd like, considering your experience you could be a helpful ally."Julik nodded in agreement and followed quickly in the steps of the turian Spectre, partially excited to discover what this beacon possibly was. From where he was leading him, it appeared the beacon would be located at the spaceport. Probably moved there when the marines tried to secure the area. Nihlus stopped Julik suddenly and gestured for him to stay there.

"Got someone down at the spaceport...just wait here while I check it out." He nodded and watched Nihlus make his way up the ramp into the spaceport, slightly surprised to see that the other person was another turian. Julik could hear the two talking off in the distance, and when Nihlus held a hand up to show he was friendly, he sat down and tried to gather himself.

One thing was certain, these were the geth attacking Eden Prime and the beacon was probably of Prothean origin. Maybe the geth thought such a cache of information was worth invading an entire colony for, why did they need it in the first place? Surely the geth were advanced enough, being a hyper-intelligent synthetic race capable of such a surgical strike. But then again the beacon could hold weapon plans, or new technologies they could use to upgrade themselves. Julik was pulled away when he heard the muffled speech of the other turian at the spaceport carry over to where he was sitting. _"Don't worry...I've got it under_ _control."_ Julik pulled his mandibles close and stood up, ready to peer around the corner.

**BANG!**

The violent echo of a pistol shot radiated from the spaceport, reverberating off of the hills and into the sky. Julik charged out, eyes stretching in horror.  
The other turian stood over Nihlus, who was laying back-first on the ground, barrel of his gun smoking.  
Blood pooled around Nihlus' head.

Julik held back a gasp at the sudden realization. Nihlus was dead, and that turian had killed him.


	3. Spectre's Dying Wish

Things got confusing quickly, a bullet rippled past Julik's head, the turian at the spaceport ran just as quickly. The massive dreadnought in the distance raised itself up and kept going until it vanished above the clouds and into the sky. He instinctively charged down the hill, carnifex as his hip, omni-tool prepping a hefty dose of medi-gel for Nihlus. By the time Julik made it down, the other turian was gone, and Nihlus gasped lightly, blood viciously gurgling from the gaping hole in the back of his head and streaming from his nose and mouth. Julik began to slather the wound in medi-gel with one hand and keep Nihlus awake with the other. "Stay with me now...Alliance fleets should be here any minute now."

Nihlus weakly pushed Julik's hand off of him, taking a garbled breath. The Spectre spoke up and grabbed Julik by the collar of his armor. "Listen kid, with what I saw, you know your stuff-" He feebly scanned Julik with his omni-tool and leaned his head back as it blinked. "I'm putting your name forward for the Spectres, the Council be damned, you got what it takes." His pupils dilated as the pool of blue blood grew larger. "Saren...the turian you saw...he's going for the beacon...stop...him..." Nihlus trailed off and slid off of Julik, the Spectre was dead.

Julik stood up...and for once...was at a loss for words. He had just witnessed the death of Nihlus Kryik, famous Council Spectre, and for the short time he had be acquainted with him, a friend. He stared down at his blue-stained hands and back at the body. Julik growled in anger and curled his hands into a fierce fist. This was the beginning, not just of a vow to kill the man who did this, but of something so much more. He reloaded the thermal clip in his Carnifex and ran towards the loading bays, heart thudding angrily in his chest. A Geth unit garbled something out in whatever computer language it spoke, gathering 3 or more units and spraying a volley of rounds in Julik's direction. That didn't stop the turian from continuing, he didn't even flinch as a set of bullets collided with his kinetic barriers.

The loading bay was eerily silent, and there was surprisingly little resistance on his way to the beacon. Two Geth units stood at attention when Julik arrived, both on either side of the large glowing beacon. A nimble shuttle swerved away, presumably carrying the turian murderer. Julik ducked out from behind a set of crates, blasting one unit before the other managed to spot him. By the time it noticed and pivoted to shoot, Julik was already upon it. In one swift move the turian wretched the assault rifle from the hands of the geth, smashing it's single eye with the butt of the gun and forcing it to the ground. The Geth howled crazily and landed a firm punch to Julik's skull.

Julik rolled away, dazed at the attack, and the geth reared up. It swung it's leg toward his head, aiming right for the temple. Julik grabbed it's ankle and pulled it down again, activating his omni-blade and plunging it directly into the geth unit's chest. It squealed and panicked, and it took a strong twist of the blade before it went limp and deactivated.

He pulled himself off of the dead unit and set his attention on the looming beacon ahead of him. It pulsated a vibrant green aura, and was...very attractive. Julik stumbled closer, not in control of his own actions, but began to worry when it seemed as if the beacon gained it's own gravitation pull. His feet were sliding across the rough floor of the loading bay, and no matter how hard he tried, it kept getting stronger. The pull swept Julik and held him suspended in the air, arms outstretched and feet dangling uselessly. A mind-numbingly warm sensation drowned out the feeling of his own body as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and violent images were forced into his head.

**_Machines. Screaming. Fire in the skies. Surgical tools pulling at flesh. An image of a foreign solar system, the dreadnought from earlier emerging from the shadow of a silhouetted planet._**

Julik was dropped from the air when the visions ceased. The sound of rushing blood roared in his ears. His head felt as if it were being split open. This, coupled with the pre-existing wounds and exhaustion from the battle minutes ago, ultimately led to Julik collapsing. In his nightmares, the visions continued. Repeating feverishly, over and over again. Like it was trying to prove a point, get a warning across. It didn't make it any better when the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder started to fuel the flames.

_He jumped upward suddenly, immediately caught off guard by the sound of cards slapping against a metallic desk. Across the rooms were his friends, boot-camp buddies, playing a deck of cards version of Quasar. He raised an eyebrow as one of the cards glinted in the harsh lighting. An Ace of Spades. Oh Spirits, this wasn't real, he remembered his friend pulling that card th-._

Julik awoke violently, screaming in terror as his nightmare was cut off. A lean, yet older woman approached cautiously from the other side of the room, clutching a data pad close to her chest. She wore a sleek Alliance medic uniform, with her thoroughly gray hair pushed off to one side. An orange name tag glistened on the right side of her uniform, the name printed in neat bold black lettering. She walked to the bedside, placing a hand on Julik's chest plate and softly pushing him back down. "It's okay, my name is Doctor Karin Chakwas, your on the S.S.V Normandy...an Alliance vessel. Somebody wants to ask you some questions."


	4. Aftermath

**A/N: I would really appreciate it if you guys could send me messages about who Julik should fall in love with, not only would it be helpful, it would help me make the story more enjoyable for all of you. You could choose from one of the female squad members in Mass Effect 1, or create a whole new character.**

* * *

Things were still spinning for a while after he awoke, sprawled onto a sterile white medical table. Dr. Chawkwas threw him a casual glance every moment or two, making sure he didn't try and leave. Julik was still partially angry at the sight of his missing armor, which lay stacked in a pile on the other side of the room, replaced with a grey outfit designed for turians. That armor had been too hell on multiple occasions, but this last blow might have been the very last. 10 dreary minutes passed before a man passed through the door and made a straight path to the Doctor, questioning her thoroughly in a hushed voice.

She nodded and gestured to Julik, who was beginning to sit up. The man stepped forward and outstretched a hand. "Captain David Anderson, Alliance Navy." Julik looked up and shook Anderson's hand, and quickly met him with a question of his own. "What happened down there on Eden Prime?...it was a slaughter!" Anderson sighed and placed one hand against his forehead, shaking his head.

"We'd hope you could answer that. We have 2 dead soldiers, a dead Spectre, and an overwhelming Geth force still being purged in the colony." Julik stood up and made his way over to his armor, rummaging through the numerous pockets for the helmet camera footage. Anderson waited patiently, partially leaning against the medical table outstretched from the wall. Julik pulled out a small quarter-sized square chip and handed it to the Captain. "I need to show this to the Council, it's important." Julik said worryingly, a hint of anxiety plaguing his voice. The Captain examined the data chip and reassured him.

"We're already half way to the Council, they're steamed about Nihlus." Anderson said, creasing his thin eyebrows. The Captain himself wore a nice array of visual battle scars, most hidden by the dark pigment of his skin, but some looked like nasty hits. Even the way he stood brought about the thought of a possible leg or back injury. Julik grunted and went back to Anderson's earlier statement about dead soldiers. "You said 2 soldiers died ground-side, who was it?" Anderson sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"Richard L. Jenkins, good kid...born on Eden Prime as a matter of fact. And Lieutenant Commander John Shepard, my XO, one hell of a soldier." Julik gave little attention to the first name, but was thankful the kid died on his birth planet. But the name Shepard snapped him into focus, that was one big name in the Alliance military. "Shepard?...you mean _The Skyllian Blitz _Shepard?...most talented biotic in the Alliance?..How'd he get taken down?" Julik inquired, also taking a seat.

"After Jenkins got taken down by Drones, John tried to flank this little group of Geth by going straight through this clearing. They grabbed him from behind and impaled him on one of those spike devices. He was still screaming when they cut off the audio. Then Nihlus dropped out when the fleets rolled in." Anderson rolled his shoulder uneasily, as if the memories were still tender in his mind. It was a shame in reality, Shepard could have done some important things. "Nihlus put my name forward for the Spectres." Julik said suddenly.

Anderson froze and looked toward Julik. "He put _you_ forward?...there must have been a reason...Nihlus was a good man, he always had his reasons." He stood up from the chair and sighed once more, brushing his hands together before continuing. "Just one more thing the Council is gonna go lopsided over, if they haven't gotten the message already." Doctor Chawkwas stepped in and handed Anderson a medical datapad, pointing toward one of the charts.

"He got battered pretty well down there David...I wouldn't recommend Julik here from irritating any possible injuries." She said, straining the seriousness of her voice. But the turian simply waved it off in a polite manner. "I feel fine, just a good thrashing. Only injury I'll get fighting with the Council is smashing my head into a wall."

**7 Hours Later**

A man's voice came over the intercom, filling the silence in the medical bay. _"We are approaching transit vector, beaming co-ordinates, buckle in people we're transferring to the Citadel." _Julik gazed around the room as the bulkhead of the Normandy audibly groaned as the drive core powered up, Doctor Chawkwas seemed to look up from her work as well, as if the noise comforted her. Within the next hour he would have to stand in front of the Citadel Council and make an attempt to justify the genocide that had taken place on Eden Prime, if such a thing was even doable. How could he possibly explain the terrifying dreadnought, or the long-forgotten Geth?, or having one of their most prized Spectres die in his arms as the colony burned?

Julik clenched his fist, steeling himself for the coming struggle. He could feel it in his heart, a new purpose had blossomed. He would hunt down this 'Saren', stop whatever sick plan the turian was cooking, and he wouldn't rest until he was drinking batarian ale out of Saren's skull.

This is the beginning...This is the Rise.


	5. Preparations

It was a silent walk up to the cockpit, most of the crew pretending to work at their stations, casting suspicious glances at him as he passed. Julik climbed the stairs up to the main floor. The Normandy was a truly exquisite vessel, it's design influenced by both turian and human engineers, a 'co-operation project' in order to heal old wounds from the Relay 314 Incident. He remembered the old battle tales his dad spoke about over dinner, occupying Shanxi, fighting off a human squadron with nothing but 'an assault rifle and his wits'. Those were the days, but they were far in the past now.

Julik stepped up behind the pilot's chair, crossing his arms and looking out the panoramic window. In the distance was the extravagant Citadel, a shining beacon of luxury cocooned in a bright purple nebula. Julik had always wanted to go back too the Citadel, plenty of people, countless old friends. He hated working in a blank colony, in the station there were thousands of people in the cities, huge groups always around you. Useful meat shields if enemy fire ever sawed through. Julik drew back at the thought...that was his military side talking...the PTSD fueled side. In his shock, the turian coughed slightly, damn near making the pilot leap straight up from his chair.

"Jesus!, don't freak me out like that!" The man exclaimed, leaning over and examining Julik. "So your our deluxe party guest?, Welcome aboard the Normandy, airlock is to your left, please close it during flight." He sighed and turned the seat around, pivoting on a metal piston. "Name's Jeff...you can just call me Joker...We're about to dock with the Citadel." Julik lowered his arms and nodded at Joker, who sneered and turned back too the controls. It was odd how humans could still have senses of humor even after wading knee-high in the blood of their comrades. Maybe it was an instinctive reaction, who knows?

Julik gazed back out the window and stepped forward suddenly, hands grabbing the wall. A massive dreadnought passed by, gleaming silver against the purple hue of the nebula. A couple dozen smaller fighters whizzed around it, as well as large military frigates. Joker pointed at the ship and laughed. "Destiny Ascension, biggest damn ship in Council space. That thing could pulverize a entire Alliance fleet without breaking a sweat. But it ain't got nothing against my baby." The Ascension made a slow, wide turn back toward the Citadel, followed by it's small armada of ships. The Normandy made a turn in the other direction, and the large ship faded from view.

Silence was quickly swapped out with the metallic whisper of kinetic locks holding the ship into place. The airlock hissed sharply and it's normally red lock switched to green. Julik shuffled off of the Normandy and out into the docking area, taking a long look around the narrow bridge. A salarian C-Sec officer raised an inquisitive eye at the turian, but quickly went back to work. The only way left to go was head toward the elevator at the far end of the bridge, so Julik hurried over and squeezed in before it descended. A newscast was broadcasting over the audio system, dragging on about an elcor-funded element zero rig on Thessia being closed for investigation, Julik actually found himself lonely without someone to talk to.

The elevator opened up into the C-Sec Academy, filled to the brim with officers and citizens alike. Several officers were in the middle of throwing an angry krogan out of the building. It was still the same law-filled metropolis that it was when he had left, and it always would be. Julik approached another turian officer and drew in a breath before asking a question. "What's the quickest way to the Citadel Tower?"

The officer pointed in the direction of a waiting sky-car taxi. After paying the minor bill and climbing in, he was on his way to speaking with the Council. Blurred lights passed by the window, smudging out the shadows of whizzing cars. The driver was a hanar, oddly enough, but Julik hardly complained about it. As long as the blasted jellyfish could drive he was pleased. Julik's omni-tool blinked and he raised it up, pressing a few buttons. A small projection of Anderson hovered in front of him.

"Hey kid...Council is done for the day, your meeting has been re-scheduled for tomorrow. I booked you a room in one of the Presidium hotels, give the driver the address. You need some rest anyway." Anderson flickered and minimized, and Julik slouched in the seat in relief. Finally...one night of good sleep and 'prettying up' before he had to stand before the galaxy's most important individuals. The hanar driver wrapped one tentacle around the joystick and pulled off in the opposite direction; toward the hotel. Upon landing, the kind hanar deducted a sum of credits from the original bill, and flew off once more.

The hotel was pleasant, being on the Presidum, and he was provided with a suite on the top floor. The entire one wall was made of glass, giving a dizzying view of the entire Citadel. Arms outstretched, glowing orange in the slight darkness. Julik unbuckled his armor's boots and cast them lazily to the side of the bed, landing face down in the pile of silk linens. His entire body still ached from the hell at Eden Prime, as did his mind. The image forced into his brain still echoed...nagging as if it did not want to be forgotten. Perhaps this vision could be thrown in with the evidence at the meeting, but he doubted the Council would hardly accept a dream as evidence. After removing the remainder of his armor, Julik lay in bed, tangled in the soft sheets. In the morning he would take a shower, grab a much needed meal, and go to his inevitable meeting with the Council.

** LATER THAT NIGHT**

_Julik grinned smugly as Krevos threw his arms up in dismay. This was the thirteenth round of Quasar, and Krevos had not yet won a single match. The commander had said it was okay to blow off steam tonight, cause they needed to be in their best shape to hit the batarian slaver base in the morning. Julik yawned quietly, placing another card down onto the table. The turian leaned back in his chair, feet pressed into the desk in front of him, and occasionally cast a glance in Krevos' direction as his friend tried to deduce which card to use. Julik turned his head as the sleek figure of a card twirled in his friend's hands, catching the light from the poor electrical overheads. Ace of Spades. Julik barely had time to scream as a hammerhead torpedo tore through the bunker and blasted his comrades into mangled projectiles of gore and limbs._

Julik leaped out of the bed, screaming as much as his lungs would allow him. His heart was thudding heavy in his chest, like the charging footsteps of a krogan. He threw his head back and hit the pillow hard, partially pulling the blanket up to it. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about the military days, the therapist had talked to him about that. And so Julik forced himself back to sleep, still holding the blanket up, knees drawn closely to his chest,


	6. The Council

The end of the night-cycle had come quicker then he would have liked, but it was normal for Julik, a good night's sleep was a rare treasure these days. The bottom floor of the hotel was an expansive restaurant, lined with countless tables filled with varying individuals. After eating a light breakfast (carefully selected from dextro-amino ingredients), his journey to the Council quickly started again. Julik hailed the passing taxi, grinning slightly when he realized it was the same hanar driver from the night before. Julik transferred the credits into the sky-car's toll collector and promptly climbed in. "Where can this one take you?" The hanar asked, his body's glow lighting up the tinted interior of the sky-car.

"Council Tower, please." Julik said. The car hovered off of the landing pad and back into the open air. His hand traveled down to the fading pain on his side, healing burns from the grenade blast on Eden Prime. Hopefully it would be gone by the time this was all over. The prettied up sights of the Presidium fell away to sharp steel landing pads, C-sec guards keeping a watchful eye as you passed. The taxi landed and the hanar driver gave a kindly floppy-tentacled wave goodbye as Julik stepped out into the chapel-esque walls of the Council Chambers. Ambassadors of every race flooded the halls, chatting up citizens and other ambassadors alike about politics and such. _Great_ Julik thought. _More politicians._

Captain Anderson was patiently waiting by the main stairway, hands properly folded behind his back. The grizzled soldier seemed to...proper for the brutal military legacy he held on his shoulders. What was his secret?, how did he cope with the countless that have died by his hands; by his decisions? Julik approached Anderson and gestured to the stairwell, he nodded. "The Council is already in session, follow me." Anderson led Julik up the luxurious staircase and into the broad Council chamber. Further above, on a slightly curved catwalk, stood the entire Council. One representative from each of the major races: Turian, Asari, and Salarian. In the corner was a larger-than-life projection of Saren, a live feed with the sinister turian glaring down at him. Saren drew his mandibles into a sneer, remembering Julik's face.

An older human ambassador was already in heated argument with the Council. The asari councilor spoke up in a soft tone. "The geth attack is a matter of some concern, but there is nothing indicating Saren was involved in any way." She replied, looking up at the projection of said individual. The turian councilor followed up her claim. "The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason." He said more accusingly, directing the statement in the direction of the ambassador. Anderson leaned over slightly and whispered something to Julik. _"That's Donnel Udina, he's the human ambassador on the Citadel."_

Udina composed his stature and replied angrily, his eyes darting between the councilors. "A dock worker witnessed Saren kill Nihlus in cold blood." Julik shifted uncomfortably, lowering his eyes to the floor. _I did to. _The salarian councilor spoke up for the first time since Julik had arrived. "We read the Eden Prime reports Ambassador, the testimony of one traumatized dock worker is hardly compelling proof."

"I resent these accusations." Julik gazed up at the large feed of Saren, who's voice was sinister in itself. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre; and a friend." Anderson stepped forward and crossed his arms irritatingly. "That just let you catch him off guard!" The captain exclaimed. Saren actually feigned an expression of shock. "Captain Anderson...you always seemed to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." Saren said...staring at the captain. Julik pondered for a moment if that had something to do with their past, but there were more important issues that needed to be discussed currently. "And this must be your protege, Staff Lieutenant Julik Vanthos, the one who got the beacon destroyed."

Julik furrowed his eye-plates and finally found the opportunity to slip in. "Your the one who destroyed the beacon, then you tried to cover it up!" He said, ignoring Anderson's disagreeing coughs. "Shift the blame to cover your own failures...just like Captain Anderson; I see he taught you well. But what can you expect...from getting taught by a _human." _Saren hissed the last word and turned his head toward the Council, almost expecting their answer. "Saren despises humanity!, why do you think he attacked Eden Prime?"

Saren replied quickly, trying desperately to cover his tracks. "Humans need to learn their place, Julik, they're not ready to join the Council. They're not even ready to join the Spectres." Udina responded in an aggressive tone, raising his voice at the Council. "He has no right to say that; It's not his decision!" The asari councilor stepped between the two and used her soothing tone once more, trying to make peace between them. "Humanity's position for the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting. Saren sighed and turned back to the Council. "This meeting HAS no purpose! They are wasting our time...and mine." Julik spoke up once more, trying to stake his claim in this argument. "You can't hide behind the Council forever!"

Anderson awkwardly edged his way in, raising a hand before he politely spoke. "There is still one outstanding issue, Staff Lieutenant Julik's vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon." Saren chuckled and waved a hand at the group, shaking his head in dis-belief. "Are we allowing dreams into the evidence now? How am I to defend my innocence against _this_ kind of testimony?" The turian councilor nodded and turned to the others.

"I agree, our judgement must be based on facts and evidence. Not wild imaginings and reckless speculation." Julik gaped as he said that, taken back at how easily such a vision was shrugged off. They didn't know the flood of emotions that followed it, they didn't know the feeling of having such a violent series of images rammed into your brain against your will. The salarian councilor finalized the meeting by asking Julik one last question. "Do you have anything else that you would like to add?" Julik scoffed and growled angrily before replying to his question. "You've made your decision. I'm not wasting my breath."

The asari spoke clearly and humbly, projecting her voice across the chamber. "The Council has found no evidence connecting Saren, and the Geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied." Saren raised his head up proudly, looking Julik straight in the eye. "I am glad to see justice was served." His projection flickered and disappeared from view. "This meeting is adjourned."

Julik and Anderson hurried off of the walkway, with Udina close behind. After all had settled, Udina was quick to accuse. "It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing Captain. You and Saren have to much history, it made the Council question our motives." Anderson looked toward Julik and attempted to defend himself with the honest facts. "Saren is working with the Geth for one reason: To exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk, every world we control is in danger, even Earth isn't safe!" Udina shrugged and placed a hand on his chin, thinking out the situation. "As a Spectre, he's virtually untouchable. We need to find _some way_ to expose him."

The voice of a turian c-sec officer rang off the walls of the Chambers, furiously arguing with the Executor down the stairs. "Give me more time! Saren is dirty, I can find evidence!" The Executor replied in a stern tone. "More time?, you've had enough of it. Your investigation is over Garrus."

Udina lowered his arms and turned to Julik, at the same time gesturing at the C-sec officer presumably named 'Garrus' down the stairs, who was still fuming. "I guess we have our first lead. Anderson, your staying out of this, we can't have the Council turning down every piece of evidence we find. As for you Julik, you are now in charge of this investigation. Meet us later when you have more information." The two walked off silently.

Julik exhaled patiently, making his way down the fine steps of the Council Chambers. He wondered if this officer would have anything against Saren that was useful. Little did he know, that information would lead him on the road that would be told in stories for thousands of years to come.


	7. Garrus The Investigator

It seemed like the officer was expecting him by the time he hit the bottom of the stairs, as he already turned to Julik before he could speak. Julik waved the officer over and pulled him off to the side, deciding to cut right too the chase. "Your Garrus?" The turian c-sec officer nodded intently and gestured to the Executor. He spoke quietly. "I'm guessing you heard my little conversation with the Executor. Garrus, Garrus Vakarian, I was leading the C-Sec investigation into Saren." This quickly and effectively snagged Julik's attention, and the turian shifted his expression from angered to interested.

"Did you find anything I should know about?" Julik asked. "Saren's a Spectre...most of his actions are classified. I couldn't find anything solid. But I know he's up to something, as humans say, I can feel it in my gut." _Finally someone who can actually help in this place. _Julik thought, carrying their conversation over too a set of nearby benches. Saren had effectively dropped every strategy of lying and deceit on the Council to smudge the facts and slip under the radar, there had to be a heavy chunk of information that would pin the murderous sadist and reveal to the Council the monster that he really was. Garrus continued. "Last thing I was able to dig up was that the crime boss Fist was trying to kill this medic down in the Wards, Dr. Michel. She has information that could help prove Saren is guilty."

Julik nodded and leaned back in the chair, folding his 3 fingered hands on his lap. If someone was trying to kill her for it, it must be pretty major. "So...we go question her, then deal with Fist?" Garrus twitched his mandibles and rolled his head, replying in a calm manner. "Or we deal with Fist, then go for her. But there's no telling what he could do to her before we find him." The young C-Sec officer huffed in agreement, beckoning Julik to stand and follow him. Things were quiet between the two as they descended in the elevator, each floor ticking away as they traveled toward the Wards.

Again the news rudely entered the elevator, and began to talk about a supposed in-progress terrorist attack happening at Terra Nova. Batarians. presumably, Terra Nova was a human colony. The elevator hissed to a stop and the sliding doors opened into the Wards, Garrus began to hurry his pace. Multiple individuals were calmly poised by the railing next to the window that dominated the entire one wall of the Citadel, just like Julik's hotel room. He wondered if all buildings were made in the same way. A holographic medical cross symbol hovered above the door of one of the rooms, though the schedule posted by the door said it should be closed right now, the lock was green and flickered, evidence of a forceful entry. Julik made the evidence clear, and Garrus equipped his pistol.

The pair slowly slid the door open, ducking under the nearest ledge that provided cover. A small group of armed men gathered around the medic, one grabbing her by the throat, and the other keeping the barrel of his gun firmly against her skull. "Fist told us to shut you up-" The one man said, pushing his gun harder. "But if you don't tell Garrus anything, he might reconsider." Julik tapped the metal wall, making the man with the gun turn. Garrus was quick to draw, and put a bullet into the thug's chest. The Doctor grabbed the nearest sharp thing to her and slammed it into the second thug's throat, screaming as the man choked on his own blood and collapsed in a fit of violent convulsing. _This is my chance!_ Julik thought as he drew his omni-blade and charged the final thug.

The Thug began to raise his gun, firing off a round before the turian's blade impaled him to the wall. Julik grabbed the man's throat and pulled out the blade, throwing his body to the floor. A dramatic smear of blood trailed down the wall where the man fell. Garrus was in the process of comforting the doctor, placing one hand on her shoulder and whispering words silently into her ear. Julik was beginning to simmer down as the sudden stinging on his shoulder flared up. A miniscule trickle of blood dripped down from where the thug's bullet had pierced. Luckily, turian plating was tougher than most others, and the round had merely grazed his arm. He simply applied a thorough coating of medi-gel and turned his attention to Garrus and the woman.

"What does Fist want with you Doctor?" Julik questioned as he approached, crossing his arms patiently. The doctor took a deep inhale and shook her arms, shaking off the adrenaline. "I had a Quarian come through about a day or two ago. She was injured pretty badly, and it looked like someone was after her. So I sat her down and treated her wounds. She said she had information against Saren, but Fist wanted her dead, something about Fist working for the Shadow Broker...and the Broker doesn't want Saren dead. He's one of their best customers." The doctor handed Garrus a log-book of the recent patients, recorded by the identity scanner at the front door. He carefully skimmed through it and handed it back to the doctor, gesturing for Julik to join him on the far side of the room.

"Looks like there was a Quarian, but she's missing a name. Look's like we're gonna have to hit Fist after all." Julik nodded and went back over to the doctor. "We're going to have C-Sec clean this mess up down here, don't worry, you won't have to worry about Fist much longer." The doctor gladly smiled, placing both of her hands on Julik's and nodded. _"Thank you" _She said. Garrus tapped his shoulder and walked out the door, Julik in tow. Garrus explained how if they were going after Fist, they needed extra muscle. He said something about a krogan that had been pulled into the Academy recently due to threat charges.

"Ah great...a krogan. Here we go." Julik muttered.


	8. Urdnot Wrex: Krogan Warlord

It was nearing the beginning of the night cycle when they finally reached the C-Sec Academy, many of the citizens had cleared out, or were exiting when Julik and Garrus passed through the entrance. Nearly a dozen officers flanked a menacingly large krogan wearing red armor. A bone chilling set of scars raked down the side of his face, and his voice was deeper than Julik had thought. A human officer leaned in and addressed the krogan in a routine fashion, as if the words had been spoken to him dozens of times before. "Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar; stay away from him." The krogan crossed his arms and sneered, shaking his head in disagreement. "I don't take orders from you."

The human sighed a jabbed a finger in the krogan's direction. "This is your only warning Wrex." The krogan, now known as Wrex, threw his head back into a laugh before adorning a threatening look. "You should warn Fist...I will kill him." The officer raised his eyebrows and placed both hands on his hips, giving Wrex a stink eye. "Do you want me to arrest you?" Wrex laughed once more, letting his arms drop to his sides. _"I want to see you try." _He muttered.

Wrex pushed the officer aside when he spotted Garrus and Julik, approaching the duo without hesitation. "Get outta' here." The human side, rallying in the other officers and disappearing into the academy. Wrex towered over both of the turians, unsure of whether to trust them, or tear them apart. "Yes?" He said, pointing the question toward Julik.

Julik trembled slightly, his family had fought in the Krogan Rebellions, and the stories that had been passed down didn't exactly bolster his courage against one in the flesh. After a moment, he mustered up the strength to speak clearly. "We're going after the rogue spectre Saren, Fist knows where to find someone that has incriminating evidence. Me and my friend here can't take on a miniature army by ourselves, so we need your muscle to get too him." Wrex shook his head glaring at both of them, almost in as if he were above them.

"Two turians expecting help from a krogan?, what are you gonna do to me afterward this time huh?, cut off my arms?" He said, lips curling into a smirk. By the spirits krogan had a tendency of holding grudges...but then again...his species had been effectively neutered in reward for saving the galaxy. The genophage was genocide bordering on a war crime. Julik lulled the idea over in his head if they would ever produce a cure, but that could never happen. The galactic forces would be unprepared to fight against an armada of resurgent krogan. Garrus stepped forward and re-assured Wrex. "It'll be good for us both, you get Fist, we get our information." Wrex seemed to relax for a moment, tilting his plated head to one side before responding.

"Fine, as long as I get Fist." Julik nodded to Garrus and the three piled into a cramped sky-car, heading for the bar in the Lower Wards; Chora's Den.

**56 Minutes Later**

It was a crawling cesspit of drunks and lowlifes, Julik could tell that before he even walked into the place. A thundering bass reverberated off the walls and shook the floor in the expansive walkway outside, and a man was forcefully thrown out of the bar, vomiting ryncol and slurring curse words at the bouncers. Wrex seemed uneasy, as if something were bothering him, his eyes kept scanning the empty catwalks on the roof above. Considering this is the bar, and presumably 'home base' of a threatening crime lord, there was a disturbing lack of security. The lock on the front door of the bar shimmered from green to red, and the sound of Wrex's shotgun being detached from his back was enough to say 'Start shooting!'. As a matter of fact, that's what the burly krogan screamed before the crack of an assault rifle sent a carefully aimed spray of incendiary rounds flying through the group.

Garrus dived for the nearest ledge, sliding under it for cover. Julik stood as thin as a twig, carefully balanced behind a support beam. Wrex, however, had different plans. A small group of salarian assassins was concentrated behind them, obviously having followed them in to plan such an ambush. The krogan released a guttural roar and charged the assailants, making the one at the head of the group run as his comrades were crushed like bowling pins. One salarian was thrown off to the side like a rag-doll, his sniper rifle soaring freely through the air. One was trampled with ease, Wrex's titanic weight snapping his neck. The captain, however, was crushed against the wall, and a wave of red liquid blasted against the inside of his helmet, remnants of whatever internal organs weren't vaporized on impact. Garrus picked off one of the scouts that attempted to flee on the catwalks, and Julik finished off the assassin that had been thrown by the charge.

"Fist's men, probably sent to take us out before we got here. No doubt there'll be twice as many inside, he was always paranoid." Wrex said as he picked over whatever was left of the assassins, checking the bodies for spare credits. Garrus and Julik had begun to pile them next to the door, hopefully making the job easier for C-Sec when they had to call in the body bags. Julik admired Wrex both for his military use, and the fact that he was a walking tank. The krogan had wiped out a small squad of attackers single-handed. No wonder the Krogan Rebellions were so bloody.

Julik called them all in, and began to hatch a plan. "Considering the opposition we just faced, there will probably be just over a dozen gunmen in the bar. There's civilians, so we need to be careful what we're shooting at. Only shoot if your target is pointing a gun at you." Wrex laughed heavily and shook his head quickly, pushing the turian out of his way. Since the door was locked, Wrex charged and blew the sliding doors out of the sockets, sending them flying across the bar and smashing into one of the bouncers. The music stopped, and everyone turned, gaping at the armed krogan.

Wrex ejected the thermal clip out of his shotgun, raising it into the air with pride. "Anyone who isn't with the pyjak who runs this bar, _**GET**** OUT!**_" Dozens of horrified citizens panicked and ran out the door, Wrex smirked as one of Fist's guards, a human, raised his gun, hands shaking violently and sweat pouring from his face. Wrex smirked, lowering himself into a partial crouch. Garrus and Julik looked each other and the eye, raising their guns, knowing what was about to happen next.

**"I...AM...KROOOOGGGAAAAAN!" **Julik could almost feel the guard piss his pants as Wrex charged.


	9. Busting Fist and Saving the Quarian

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for 400 views!, It's great knowing my story is getting so much recognition. Let's see if this thing can hit 800 by the start of August!**

* * *

Garrus and Julik stormed into the bar shortly after Wrex had trampled the poor guard into submission. Already more were beginning to swarm from the backrooms, nearly all human, but two or three were krogan. Even Wrex was forced to duck down as the barrage of fire began to fly. Garrus leaned out of cover, taking pot-shots at the surging guards. One dropped dead as a round met the side of his head, and another screamed as the bullet ripped through his thigh, making him collapse. This had to be the bulk of Fist's defense, considering the river of guards had cut off from the doorway, there had to be a way to do this. He remembered the final words of his beloved friend the day before the batarian raid. _"Take these." _Krevos had said. _"Some day, they'll save your scales."_

Julik looked down at the strap of lift grenades that was strapped to his side, a parting gift before Krevos had died. His friend had been a Cabal, a turian biotic serving in the military. The only issue was, how to use them. _I could throw them all at once...rip apart a huge chunk of the squad. But it would cause major damage to the bar. _Wrex grunted as one of the guards tried to wrestle him to the ground, only realizing at the last moment that the krogan had broken his arm like a toothpick and was in the process of crushing his ribs. _Or throw a couple of them out, it wouldn't have the same effect but it would knock them out instead of killing them. Not as much collateral damage._

After deciding, Julik unstrapped the belt of grenades from his side and pulled the pins all in unison, making sure to loosen them from the belt as well. In one great heave, the turian launched them into the air, each grenade separating and flying in a different direction. He was pretty sure that one of the guards had screamed 'Grenade!' before they went off, at least the poor guy saw it before being shot up and slammed into the ceiling. There was a mighty blue blast and the remainder of the guards were thrown about like rag-dolls, knocking over chairs...tables...and two even took out one of the dancer's poles. Julik took a quick scan, and the majority of the guards were still alive.

Garrus exhaled deeply and replaced the thermal clip in his pistol and pushing over the table that had served as his cover. Without hesitation, the group pulled together again and moved toward the back door. Julik nodded to Wrex, and opened the locking mechanism, which allowed the doors to slide open. Three more humans...each wielding standard-issue pistols that couldn't pierce a shield if they tried. They weren't wearing the same uniform as any of the others, and smelled of oil and sweat. Garrus snickered and shook his head. "Dock workers." He said. Julik wondered if any of these guys even cared about Fist, or were even remotely involved with him. The crime boss had most likely paid them off as a last line of defense for his escape.

"You don't wanna die for this guy, do you?" Each of the workers glanced at each other uneasily, and the one at the front threw his pistol down before walking away. The rest followed, and the woman at the far back mumbled 'I don't even like Fist anyway.' Wrex gripped his shotgun and threw Julik a stare. "It would have been easier to just kill them." They proceeded to the final door, opening it as fast as possible. The room was mainly empty, but as they turned the corner, the double barrels of two large defense turrets locked into place and sprayed rapid-fire riot shells in their direction.

Wrex had managed to down one turret with a warp field, chuckling as the death machine burst apart and fell to the floor. The other was just as easy to eliminate, given it's poor shielding and lack of proper armor. Wrex took the right side of the room. Garrus, the left. And Julik raised his pistol while converging on the far end. A muscular human wearing red/black armor jumped up from behind an overturned table at the end of the room. Given how Wrex tensed and raised his shotgun at the sight, this must be Fist. One thin scar faded down the left side of Fist's face, which was odd, as Julik didn't see the man as much of a fighter at all.

"Wait; don't kill me!" Fist yelled, his voice hoarse. Yes...the crime boss was trying to be apologetic and scared when he knew he'd been caught. Classic criminal. Julik pointed his pistol bluntly in his direction, finger wrapped around the trigger. "Where's the quarian?" He barked, taking a step closer. Fist jumped back so hard he tripped and fell over, raising one hand in the air like a scared schoolgirl. "She's not here!...I don't know where she is!, that's the truth!" Wrex snorted and pointed his shotgun at Fist. "He's no use to you now...let me kill him." Fist's eyes widened and he stuttered out a sentence.

"Okay, I don't know where the quarian is. But I know where you can find her. The quarian isn't here, said she would only talk to the Shadow Broker herself!" Wrex pulled his shotgun away and looked at Julik, a pressing tone in his voice. "Face-to-face?, impossible, even I was hired through an agent." Julik holstered his pistol and let Fist stand up, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. It would have been helpful to know that Wrex was working for the Broker, it might have given him some insight of what was going on.

"No one meets the Broker, ever, even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting up. But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her." Julik's mandibles separated and he lunged forward, slamming Fist into the wall and wrapping his talons around the man's throat. "Give me the location!" Fist choked on the sudden application of pressure that crushed his windpipe, slurring the words in a gasp for air. "Here...in the wards. In the back alley by the markets. If you hurry...you can still save her..." Julik threw the piece of filth to the ground, not even questioning Wrex when the krogan shot him. The Citadel would be a better place without the guy.

The entire group broke into a sprint, Wrex taking the lead as their personal battering ram. Out of Chora's Den, past the bridge, past the pile of dead bodies that were once assassins. The bright neon lights faded away to orange, they passed the markets and hurried into the alleyway. A lean quarian girl stood alone, surrounded by salarian soldiers. One turian faced her, at a distance that seemed to close for comfort. "Do you have it?" The turian said, taking another step forward. "Where's the Shadow Broker; where's Fist?" She asked solidly, not backing away. The turian seductively ran his hand down her arm, blatantly reaching for lower areas. "They'll be here...where's the evidence?" He asked. The quarian slapped his hand away and shook her head before finally backing away from him. "No way, the deal is off." The turian met eyes with one of the two salarian soldiers, which drew their handguns. The quarian took notice and put a bullet of her own into the turian's chest. Garrus shot the two salarians before they could fire.

The quarian girl turned and huffed madly, holstering her gun. "Fist set me up!, I knew I shouldn't have trusted him!" Julik did the same with his own pistol and lowered his arms to his sides. "Were you hurt in the fight?" He asked. "I know how to look after myself, not that I don't appreciate the help. Who are you?" She responded, eyes darting between each member of the group.

"Staff Lieutenant Julik Vanthos, _ex_ C-Sec officer, and a friend. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor." The quarian raised her omni-tool and took on a more relaxed stance. "Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here; we need to go somewhere safe." Garrus nudged Julik and made a suggestion. "We could take her too the Human Embassy, the Ambassador will want to see this anyway." Julik nodded and gestured for the girl to follow. Out of curiosity, he asked a question. "By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Tali, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. It's nice to meet you."


	10. Presenting The Evidence

When the entered Ambassador Udina's office, he was overlooking the Presidium from his office's balcony. He turned his head and cast a half-glance back at Julik, Tali, Garrus and Wrex. "Your not making my life easy Vanthos. Firefights in the Wards, an all out assault on Chora's Den, _do you know how many-?" _Udina stopped suddenly to take a look at Tali, one eyebrow raising in curiosity. Julik crossed his arms and stepped forward before the ambassador could cut in again. "I was getting evidence to prove Saren's a traitor, here it is." He nodded his head in the direction of the quarian next to him.

"Oh really?" Udina sneered "Maybe you'd better start at the beginning Miss...?" He questioned Tali. The quarian proudly stepped up next to Julik and turned to the ambassador. "My name is Tali: Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." Udina scoffed and actually smirked, such a smug bastard. He sat down at his desk and turned his head to Tali. "We don't see many quarians here...why did you leave the Flotilla?" Tali took on a reassuring tone and attempted to support her claim.

"I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood." Julik pondered the word, trying to remember where he had heard it before. The Pilgrimage was customary for every quarian about to become an adult. They were required to leave the Flotilla and their birth ship and only return upon finding something useful that would help everyday life. For example, maybe a new processing system for the communications network, or a new ship. Julik politely spoke up. "Please, continue." He said, pushing for the evidence against Saren. Tali sighed and continued. "During my travels, I began hearing rumors of Geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious." She said the last part of the sentence in a perky purr, which fit perfectly with her natural exotic accent.

"I tracked a patrol of Geth too an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from it's unit, then I disabled it and removed it's memory core." Anderson, who had been sulking in the far corner of the room, pushed off of his spot on the wall and eagerly slipped his way into the conversation. "I thought the Geth fried their memory cores when they died." He countered, and Julik actually agreed with him. Beginning to question the girl's story, Julik walked to stand beside Anderson and looked and Tali.

"How did you manage to preserve the memory core?" The turian suspiciously questioned, eyes narrowing. Perhaps the quarian was working for Saren, and was wagging a bone in front of their faces so the maniac could continue terrorizing the galaxy. Tali took a step backwards this time, back nearly touching the wall before she responded. "My people made the Geth, if your quick...careful...and lucky small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Most of the core was wiped clean, but I salvaged something from it's audio banks." Tali fiddled around with her omni-tool, pressing a few buttons and turning up the volume. Julik froze solid as the menace himself began to speak from the recording.

_**"Eden Prime was a major victory, the beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."**_

Anderson stuttered out a sentence, still nursing the sudden shock. "That's Saren's voice! This proves he was involved in the attack!" Julik raised a hand, and spoke up, questioning what Saren had said. "He said that the beacon brought him one step closer to finding the _Conduit, _any idea what that means?" Anderson shook his head and sat down at the other chair of Udina's desk, head plastered flat against the smooth upholstery. "The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon, maybe some sort of Prothean technology-" He sat forward, eyes widened. "Like a weapon."

Tali butted in and raised her omni-tool once more to catch their attention. "Wait...there's more, Saren wasn't working alone." The recording began playing once again, echoing the murderer's voice into the room once more.

_**"Eden Prime was a major victory, the beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."**_

There was an eerie pause before a distinctly feminine voice rang out from behind Saren.

_**"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."**_

Julik bit down on his tongue, hard, fighting the urge to puke. That name...that disturbing name was burrowed into the darkest reaches of his brain...the vision, it all made sense now. Udina interjected as soon as the recording ended. "That other voice, the one talking to Saren, I don't recognize it." Brushing off the ambassador's counter claim, the turian immediately went back to Tali. "That term, Reapers, it sounds familiar." Tali shrugged and placed one hand on her hip, leaning her head to the side. "According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction and then they vanished. At least...that's what the Geth believe."

Udina busted into laughter, nearly breaking a tear and what she suggested. "That sounds a bit...far-fetched." Julik interrupted him before the human could berate her any longer, he had just about enough of the ambassador being so smug and mighty. "The vision on Eden Prime, I understand it now, I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers." Tali nodded in agreement. "The Geth revere them as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring them back."

Udina huffed, crossing his arms and staring a hole into the floor. "The Council is just going to _love_ this." He muttered angrily. Julik smacked one open hand against the palm of his other, taking a serious tone. "The Reapers are a threat to every species in Citadel space. We have to tell them." Anderson turned to Udina and said something as well. "No matter what they think of the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren is a traitor!" Udina held his arms out in front of him as if saying 'Alright!' and put them back down. "Anderson is right, you need to present this to the Council, head there right now."

Julik tapped Tali's shoulder and gestured for her to follow, when she asked why, Julik explained. "Come on Tali, you may have just saved the galaxy from a sociopath that wants to kill us all. Your with us now." The quarian smiled and happily fell into line behind Julik, along with Garrus and Wrex.


	11. (Authors Note: Posting Schedule)

**A/N: **I hope to post 1 chapter per weekend, or more if you guys really want it. Now that school is ending I will be fully devoted to writing the story as much as possible, and you might be seeing 2 or 3 chapters a week. Thank you for taking a piece of your time to read this story, and I hope you enjoy Julik's future as much as I do writing it.

_**Signed,**_

**_Cherokee-Lightning_**


	12. Hell to Pay

**A/N: Yay for 11 chapters!, and over 530 views! Thank you guys so much for being so supportive! :D**

* * *

Tali had been sent ahead with Udina to present the evidence, hopefully the Council would be less supportive of their prized Spectre after this dirt was kicked up on him. Julik had been strictly told that he were to talk to the Council this time, in order to explain what had gone down at the Wards. Perhaps they would care less about that and more about the matters at hand. By the time he and his new crew had arrived in the chambers, the sound of Saren's recorded voice was echoing off the walls. Udina stood firmly beside Tali'Zorah, angrily pointing a finger in the direction of the councilors. "You wanted proof?...there it is."

The councilors shared shocked glances, having trouble believing that it was actually true. The turian councilor looked to the ambassador and finally broke the tense silence. "This evidence is irrefutable Ambassador, Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him to answer for his crimes." The asari councilor coughed silently in order to catch their attention, raising a hand as if signalling she was going to speak. "I recognize the other voice, the one speaking to Saren...Matriarch Benezia." Julik finally walked up to the podium, catching the last of what she'd said. He'd had his fair share of Matriarchs, mostly due to the fact that unbeknownst to the rest of the galaxy, they weren't always the 'kind and loving poets' people glorified them as. A few years ago, Julik had stormed a crime ring working behind the mask of a pharmacy using the shipments to hide illegal biotic amps, the crime lord had been an asari matriarch, who did not seem to like having her things broken.

"I know plenty about Matriarchs-" Julik stepped in and said, placing his hands on the curved railings. "But who is this Benezia your talking about?" The councilor politely nodded at Julik for acknowledging her statement, and was quick to explain. "Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. All you need to know is that she will be a formidable ally for Saren." The salarian councilor shook his head and turned away from the others. It was clear he was interested in different matters. Julik shifted uncomfortably and removed his hands from the railing, awaiting his response. "I'm more interested in these 'Reapers', what else do we know about them?" The salarian councilor questioned.

Anderson responded instead, brushing past Julik. "Only what we got from the geth's memory core. The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans, then they vanished." Julik gave the captain a glance, not appreciating how he had just pushed in and cut the turian off. After a passing moment of thought, he stepped forward to reinforce what Anderson had said. "From what we know...the Reapers are like gods to the geth, and they think Saren can bring them back."

"We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back-" Anderson said, casting his own bitter look in Julik's direction "Saren is searching for it, that's why he attacked Eden Prime." The salarian councilor placed his hand on his mouth, trying to deduce the situation. "Do we even know what this 'Conduit' is?" Julik stopped the captain from cutting him off again, placing one hand on the human's chest and giving him a stare before turning to the Council. "Not yet, but if Saren thinks it can return the Reapers...you can be damn sure I'm going to stop him from getting it.

"Listen to yourself-!" The turian councilor spat out. "Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible, it has to be. Where did the Reapers go?, why did they vanish?, how come we have found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we would have found something." Julik stepped back, mandibles drawn into a partial snarl. Even after finding concrete proof of Saren's corruption, they still questioned him! "I tried to warn you about Saren, but you refused to see the truth! Why is this any different, why _would_ it be any different?" He yelled. The asari councilor scowled and retorted in a raised voice, almost as if she were disciplining a child.

"This _is_ different, you proved Saren betrayed the Council. And we all agree he his manipulating the Geth to find the Conduit, but we don't know _why_." The salarian councilor joined in on the bombardment. Politicians, they always wanted their own standpoint to be correct above all else. "The Reapers are obviously just a myth, a tale Saren is using to bend the geth to his will." Julik slammed his fists down on the railing, making his hands throb in pain, and proceeded to yell once again in a wavering voice. "50,000 years ago the Reapers wiped out the Protheans, I saw it in my own head, in the fucking visions! And if we don't stop that malevolent piece of rotting trash from getting the Conduit it WILL happen again!" The turian councilor leaned forward and cocked his head back, almost as if mocking Julik for becoming enraged.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life. We have stripped him of his position, and he no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre." Udina almost hissed as the turian councilor fed them lines of bull-crap, and he once again accusingly pointed a finger in their direction before hollering alongside Julik. "That is not good enough-!" The ambassador shouted. "You know he is hiding somewhere in the Traverse, send your fleet in!" The salarian councilor shook his head in disagreement and uneasily glanced at the others before interjecting. "A fleet cannot track down one man." Udina lowered his head into his hands angrily before muttering out a sentence just loud enough for the Council to hear. "A council fleet could secure the entire region."

Before anyone could interject, the asari councilor interrupted and turned to the turian councilor. "There is a way...Nihlus had requested that Julik Vanthos be made a Spectre, we must respect his decision." Julik froze in place, the very air around him turning to a distressed ice. He was sure he could hear Garrus partially gasp in the background. All of the councilors stepped forward, typing some sort of code into their personal terminals. "Staff Lieutenant Julik Vanthos, please step forward." The asari councilor said.

Wrex grunted and lightly pushed Julik forward when he saw the turian locked up like a statue. Mobs of pedestrians shoved their way into the balconies above, shouldering past each other and leaning over the railing to catch a glimpse at the sight. Crowds even began to mill on the stairways behind them. "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel." The asari councilor said in a regal tone, making sure the whole ceremony was nice and official. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those who's actions elevate them above the rank and file." The salarian councilor added. "Spectres are an idea. A symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will." The asari councilor replied. Meanwhile...Julik was in a daze, mind drugged with both fear and excitement. Only the elite of the elite, people like Nihlus, were so blessed to receive the position. When the turian councilor spoke, however, Julik prepared for a snotty and insulting remark. However, he was surprised when he actually said something meaningful, even though this entire ceremony was scripted. "Spectres bear a great burden, they are the protectors of galactic peace. Both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

After the screaming and cheering had died down, the shuffle of the crowd and flashes of pictures being taken with omni-tools, the asari councilor bowed her head in respect. "Congratulations Julik Vanthos, you will be making Nihlus proud." Julik bowed his head down as well, not only to be respectful, but to hide the horrified expression he wore and the clammy sweat beginning to form in the palms of his hands. He turned to his new squad mates, to Udina and Anderson. But before he could leave, the salarian councilor gave him his assignment. "We will be sending you into the Terminus to hunt down Saren. He is a fugitive of the law, so you are authorized to apprehend him in any way required. Any relevant files containing his whereabouts will be forwarded to Ambassador Udina. Good luck."

This was it. The beginning of the manhunt, of his promise to kill the madman and avenge Nihlus' death. He fished his old dog tags out from his armor pocket, sneering at the neat stamped letters across the oval shaped metal. Perhaps it was time to let go of what happened, forget the horrible past. Without second guessing, Julik threw his dog tags off of the catwalk, hearing them 'ping' when they landed on the glass panels below. It was no longer 'Staff Lieutenant' Julik Vanthos, it was _Council Spectre_ Julik Vanthos now.

And wherever that slimy turian was now, Julik hoped that Saren knew he had hell to pay. And hell was about to arrive on his doorstep.


	13. Welcome to the Normandy

After being instructed to meet Udina and Anderson at the Normandy's docking bay, Julik was already being drowned in luxuries. Top of the line armor upgrades, brand new weaponry straight off the assembly. There had to be at least a dozen reporters shadowing him the entire way to the docking bay begging for an interview. Wrex seemed to have gotten sick of it and scared away the reporters with some threats dealing with 'ripping limbs off'. His new squad mates seemed eager to come along on the mission to find Saren, and Julik saw no reason to turn them away. This was gonna be difficult, and he'd need all the help he can get.

When they finally arrived, Julik saw Udina and Anderson speaking in hushed voices next to the airlock. The Normandy was an exquisite vessel, said to be one of the most expensive in the entire Alliance fleet. The drive core in that thing was worth so much, that with the money used to construct it, they could have built drive cores for a few hundred fighters. Anderson saw the gang approaching and waved them over, Udina merely gazed over his shoulder before turning. "I've got big news for you, Vanthos. Captain Anderson is stepping down as the commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now." The ambassador announced.

"She's quick and quiet and the crew will follow you into hell. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well Julik." Anderson said, nodding solemly. Julik honestly had no idea what to say. Was it right to be taking away this man's ship?...his loyal crew? The turian was well aware that he was a spectre now, operating outside of the law and doing whatever was needed to get the job done. But this just felt completely wrong, like taking away a soldiers gun before a big battle. "Really, Anderson, I can't take away your ship. I'll find my own, it's not a big deal." Julik offered.

"You _need _your own ship. A Spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council. And it's time for me to step down." The captain said in a pressing tone, handing a data pad over to Julik. It was already filled out...all the official Alliance documents, the A.I reprogrammed to address the turian as 'Commander' or 'Captain'. How had they managed to get it all processed in such a short amount of time? It had only been about an hour since the Council meeting and military paperwork usually took weeks to file. Realizing there was no convincing the captain otherwise, Julik buckled and gave in to his request. "Okay, Okay. I'll take the Normandy if it can help me. Any leads on Saren?" He asked.

"Saren's gone, don't even try to find him right now. But we know what he's after: the Conduit. He's got his geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues." Anderson explained before gesturing to Udina to fill in Julik on the files forwarded by the Council. "We got reports of geth in the Feros system just before our colony there lost contact-" The ambassador said. "And there have been sightings around Noveria." He added in.

Julik frowned, not yet satisfied with the information. There was one crucial piece missing from the puzzle. "What about the Reapers?-" Julik asked. "They're the real threat." Udina shook his head and crossed his arms, speaking against him in a sarcastic tone. "I'm with the Council on this one, I'm not sure they even exist." Julik bit his tongue in anger, just stopping himself from a hiss. What was the deal with these politicians?...even when flat-out beat in the face with a huge solid rock of evidence they still continued to develop their own personal theories and viewpoints that just had to be better then everyone else's. With a firm handshake to the Captain, and a slightly respectful glance to the Ambassador, Julik slowly began to approach the Normandy. The Ambassador called out one last time, giving Julik one last lead.

"One last thing. Matriarch Benezia has a daughter, a Dr. Liara T'Soni. She is an expert on prothean ruins and technology, but she went missing in the Artemis Tau cluster not long ago on a solo excavation. She may prove useful to your hunt." Julik nodded and stopped for a moment to ponder as to which place he would visit first. Both Feros and Noveria seemed promising, but it was obvious which had to be first. Liara T'Soni, being the daughter of Saren's second in command, could be exponentially more useful than uplifting geth from a single colony or sniffing them out on some ice cube of a planet. Her being a prothean expert was a huge bonus, as she might have some insight of what the Conduit is. He picked up his pace again, inhaling deeply. In a human saying, 'He felt butterflies in his stomach' as the Normandy A.I referred to him as Captain Vanthos. That was something he had never expected to hear.

There was a small decontamination process before the ship fully granted him entry, and when it did, all eyes turned on him. Joker...in the pilot's seat...did a complete 360 turn around and popped a smile. Julik couldn't tell if the pilot was pleasantly surprised or just being a snippy ass-hat. Dignified crew members, honorable men and woman with medals of all kinds fell into line and saluted like he was a boot camp instructor. The newly crowned Spectre and captain was completely out of his element...and he _loved_ it. Approaching the pilot, he spun his finger and Joker turned back around to the controls, looking back, expecting orders. "Patch me in to the entire crew." Julik announced. Joker nodded and activated every single speaker on the entire ship, directing the turian to the microphone. Julik leaned in, and began to speak.

"I know this is a major change in administration, Captain Anderson has allowed me control of the ship in my mission to hunt down Saren. I'm aware that with most of you being Alliance, there may be bad blood already brewing for those who know my name and who I am. But I promise that there will be no discrimination, no petty feuds. And those who plan on harboring that can just get off of this ship right now, because if your not prepared to cast all of that aside to help me find the murderer who attacked Eden Prime are not worthy of serving on this ship..._my_ ship. Me, you, and this fine ass pilot right here are the only things standing between freedom and the destruction of this galaxy as we know it. As long as we stand together, as long as one of us still lives the battle is not over. Captain Vanthos out."

Julik sighed, bringing one hand to his chin. Joker raised an eyebrow and shot Julik a glance of actual amusement. "That wasn't half bad. Anderson would have been proud of that speech. The whole 'Oorah!, protectors of the galaxy!' run down. In all seriousness though, I read your military reports dude. Please don't go psycho and kill us all with a pipe wrench like you did to those batarian slavers a few years back, after your squad died." Julik glared down at the man, talons gripping the head of the comfy leather seat. Joker lowered his head and deactivated the docking controls, releasing the ship from the mass effect tethers holding it in place. "Sorry, thin ice, will try not to tread on it." He said, before getting down to business. "Where to Captain?"

Julik walked back solemnly to the galaxy map in the center of the CIC, enlarging the holographic interface before pointing right to a small circled system almost at the other side of the galaxy.

"Set a course to the Artemis Tau cluster, we have an asari to find."


	14. Liara T'Soni: Part 1

The search, in simpler terms, was much more difficult than first expected.

Having never stepped foot in the Artemis Tau cluster, Julik was flying blind without the information steadily being supplied from Alliance central command. Three days into the search, multiple planets empty, and entire systems of nothing, they finally happened upon the planet Therum in the system Knossos. From what the Normandy's scanners were able to detect, a large energy signature was bubbled below the surface in one of the prothean ruins. However, they were not alone. Geth ships orbited low above the planet. Julik ordered Joker to activate the stealth drives and take them in fast, and he did so.

Though the stealth systems would only mask sensor pick-ups and thermal readings, anyone could blatantly look out a window and still see them. Perhaps Geth did not use windows, or have the idea to, as the Normandy swerved right between two large frigates and down onto the surface. Julik gathered up his squad, Garrus and Tali, and hurried down to the shuttle. One large weapons locker was at the far end of the shuttle, so the gang helped themselves to the brand new weaponry. Julik carefully plucked out a HMWA VII from the rack but kept his old pistol. The thing had been through far to much to be replaced by some fancy piece of plastic.

The three sat silently on the leather benches of the Kodiak as it descended from the Normandy, taxiing them to their location. Julik hoped dearly that they were ready to face the Geth resistance, considering neither of his squad mates probably had any actual experience fighting them. Tali had killed that one wherever she'd gotten the memory core, and her species had _created _the Geth, but that didn't exactly settle his worries. The shuttle set down beside a choke point created by a set of a few large boulders, and sped away as soon as they were off. Prothean ruins were visible on the hill behind the rocks to the north, and to the south, was a bubbling magma river. Julik couldn't help but think what purpose this place must have served 50,000 years ago.

His helmet's H.U.D came alive with vital sign trackers and a small map at the bottom left. Crafted by his father when Julik was still at a very young age, the helmet was capable of assisting aim in firefights, set up a narrow communications up-link with squad members and keep track of enemy positions in the heat of battle. It was extremely useful, and had even saved his life on countless occasions, but there was only one made and the technology was extremely difficult to manufacture. "Clear." Julik said crisply, scanning the surroundings with his new rifle. "Clear." Garrus replied. "Clear." Tali responded. With a curt nod the group went to work getting past the choke point.

In an effort to squeeze between the large boulders, they all tossed their guns over and slid between. Tali had no issue, being much skinnier than the two turians. But Garrus and Julik found trouble when they discovered that their bulkier body shape refused to fit between. Realizing this, they simply did their best and climbed over. Suddenly, the world was alive with sound. Geth poured out from behind the hill, setting up mobile shield generators and wasting no time before firing down at the trio. Both of the turians stumbled for their guns before diving into cover. Julik's H.U.D clearly identified just under a dozen contacts on the ridge.

Tali released her personal combat drone, the little purple ball danced circles around the large geth units, zapping them with multiple energy jolts. Using this as a distraction, they easily gunned down the once menacing squadron. Julik looked over to Tali as they continued forward, jabbing a finger in the direction of the dead geth. "That was a nice little trick." He said. Tali raised her omni tool and nodded in agreement, bringing up the holographic sphere again. "They may be quick-" Tali chuckled. "But no one is faster than Chikkita Vas Paus." The group had a nice big laugh before the prothean ruins finally began to form around them.

Mostly half-buried, the only ruins visible were the ones actually surrounded by excavation equipment. A large tunnel lay at the far end of the patch of buildings, and let straight down to the large energy source below the ground. Julik gestured for Tali and Garrus to split up, each taking a separate approach. It was odd how no more Geth had arrived to halt their progress, they had to know the group was there by now. It almost felt like Eden Prime all over again. His train of thought was interrupted by a geth drop-ship soaring overhead, almost as if on cue. Weirdly enough, only two units dropped out instead of a swarm. The two units were, however, beefy Juggernauts wielding powerful energy cannons. One garbled out the same computer language Julik had heard before, and his buddy fired. A large blue beam of energy rushed past Garrus, missing the ex C-Sec officer by inches. "Spirits!" Julik heard him cry.

Few moments passed before the other Juggernaut began to fire the pulsing swath of energy as well, searing a hole right through a cargo container Tali was hiding behind. With a few disorganized shouts, the group rushed out of cover and charged the Geth. Nearly being sawn in half by the cannons several times before being upon them, Julik was close enough to shoot without having to worry about shields. The powerful HMWA rounds cut through whatever metal it was constructed from like cheap tin, blasting holes right in it's chest-plate and rupturing new ones on the other side. Within seconds, the scuffle was over and both Juggernauts lay dead.

They all curiously looked up at the hovering drop ship, as it still hung in the sky. Garrus had suggested finding a way to blow it up with the energy cannons, Tali was tinkering with her omni-tool and scanning the geth bodies, and Julik barely had time to leap out of the way before a hulking mass fell from the ship and smashed onto the ground with a powerful force. The miniature shock wave was enough to lift both turians and the quarian off their feet and throw them back a small bit. Groaning, Julik turned over and rose, assault rifle hissing as a new thermal clip was packed in.

The massive geth unfolded from the little cube it had folded itself into, 4 legs churning up the dirt as it rose. The thing was huge, nearly a dozen feet in height or larger, and sadly, it was not on their side. Either to dazed to move, or just frozen in fear, Julik quivered as it looked down upon him. Muscles turned to cement and lungs struggling for air, Julik was completely paralyzed. A blinding white light enveloped the Armature's one oval eye and pulsed brightly.

It took Julik a moment to realize that bright light had just slammed into his shields with the force of a charging krogan, and smashed him into the nearest wall.

_Out Cold_


End file.
